Corn-husking machine.



W. H. SELLS.

GORN- HUSKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, 1902.

Patented Jun 4, 1912.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. H. SELLS. CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OOT. 23,1908.

1 I Patented June 4, 1912.

4 SHEETPr-SHEET 2.

H. SELLS. CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0032a, 1908.

Patented J ne 4; 1912.

4 SHEBTSSHEET 3:

4 SHEETSSHEBT 4 APPLICATION FILED OUT. 23, 1908! corn with facility and without unduelbruis- WILLIAM H. SELLS, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

' conn-nusnine MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J line 4, 1912.

Application filedfictober 23 1908. Serial No. 459,153.

To all whom it may concern: v

'Be it known that I,.VV1LLIAM H. SELLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Eric and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Corn-Husking Machines, of which'the followingisa specification.

This invent-ion relates to a machine whereby 'lthe'husks are removed from the ears of green corn preparatory to cutting the ,kernels 'of corn-from the cob and-cooking or canning thesame. It is the object of this invention to provides machine for this purpos'e'vvhich thoroughly removes the husks rom the ears of ing or wasting of the kernels of corn, which is comparatively simple and compact in con- :struction and reliable in operation, and p which requires but little power for its opera'tion.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 4 sheets: Figure l'ji's'a side elevation of Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal-section thereof; Fig. 3 is atop plan view thereof. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, similar to Fig. 2, and showing some of the parts in a different position. Fig. 5 is a bottomplan vieW,-partly in section, of the means for loosening the husks of the ears of corm F ig; 6 is a front end view of the machine.

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section in line 77,

Fig.2. M

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts throughout the several.

views. l

A represents the main frameof the ma-' chine which may be of any suitable construction. In the upper part of thisfran'ie is arranged the propeller or carrier whereby the cars a of corn are moved successively to the devices which trim or cutoff the stub or butt ends thereof and remove the husks therefrom. This propeller or carrier may be variously constructed but is preferably of the endless'type and comprises a plu 'alit'y of chain belts B which are arranged side by side so thatthey operate together and each of which comprises an upper receiving portion I) which preferal'ily moves upwardly 41nd forwardly at an angle or incline, a

lower front delivery portion L which moves downwardly and rearwardly at an angle the front end ofthe receiving per-- are mounted on a transverse shaft C.

tion and a lower rear return portion b which moves :rearwardly from thev lower end of the delivery portion to the outer end of the receiving portion At the outer ends of the receiving and return portions of the several chain belts the same pass around a. plurality of rear sprocket-wheels c which At the front ends of the receiving portions and the upper ends of the delivery parts of these belts the same pass around a plurality of inner sprocket wheels (1 which are mounted on a transverse shaft D and at the lower ends of the delivery portions of these belts and the adjacent ends ofthe'return portions thereof, the same pass around a plurality of intern'icrliate spbcket wheels c which are mounted on a t 'ansvcrsc shaft E. The shafts C, D, E of the several sets of sprocket wheels c, J, c are journaled in the adjacent parts of the main frame in'any suitable manner. On the outer side of each propelling chain the same is provided at regular intervals with laterally projecting carrying wings, fingers or blades f, the WlllgSffi the several belts being arranged transversely in line so as to form a plurality of sets each of which is adapted to engage with an ear of corn placed crosswise upon the chain belts and carry the same forwardly to the end trimming and husk. removingdcviccs. V ari- Icy g a chainbelt g passing around a sproc (ct pinion g on the driving shaft and a sprocket wheel on one end of a counter shaf't'tii journal-ed on the'lower central part of the main frame, and a chain belt g passi ng'around a sprocket pinion g on the other end of the counter shaftand a sprocket wheel g oil-the shaft D which carries the front sprocket wheel d. y i

llreprcsent-s guide bars which are arranged lengthwise in the spaces between the operative parts of the endless carrying belts for assisting the latter in supporting and guiding the ears of 'corn While the same are moved toward and pastthe end trimming and husk removing devices. Each of these guide bars has an upper inclined receiving part II arranged in line with the upper rethe sprocket wheels cl, as'shown in Fig. 4.

As the ears of corn are carried forwardly by .the receiving part of the endless carrier the front sides of the wings of'each set engage with the rear sides of the ears of corn and move the same positively forward and during the last part of this forward movement of the ears while under the control of the receiving part of the carrier the j stubend of the same is cut otf so as-to (10- ,ta'ch the husks from the cob to permit the huslts to be more readily removed. If desired, only one cutting device may be provided on one side of the path of the ears of corn adjacent to the frontend of the receivingportion of the endless carrier in which easethe operator is required to place all the ears crosswise on the carrier with the stub or butt ends projecting in the same direction and in position to be engaged by this cutting vdevice, but it is preferable, as shown in the drawings, to provide two cutting devices which are arranged on opposite sides of the path of the ears of corn so that the stub "ends of the ears of corn may be trimmed or cut oil when placed upon the carrier with their stub ends projecting in either direction. This arrangement'has the further advantage that two operators may be employed for'feeding the machine, one operator placing the ears upon the carrier so that the stub ends thereof are cut off by one of the cutting devices, while the other operator places the ears upon the carrier so that the ends thereof project in the opposite direction-and are cut off by the other cutting de vice. In this manner the capacity of the machine can be doubled without any material increase in the cost or size of the machine inasmuch as the corn propelling and husking devices are capable of operating properly on the corn fast as two operators are ableto feed the same.

,Although the cutting devices may be varied in their construction, that shown in jccts with its periphery beyond the face of the drawings had been found suitable in practice and is therefore preferred. Each Qt the cutting devices shown .111 the drawings comprises a circular cutting disk or blade I which is secured concentrically to the front shaft D acent to the outer side of one of the outer carrying belts and prothe carrying belts, and a stationary inclined cutter blade I supported on the frame by a bracket z ad acent to the upper part of the cutter disk and forming therewith a V- shaped cutting mouth the sides of which converge forwardly. The cutter disk rotates with the front shaft and as the ears of cornare moved forwardly by the receivingportion of the carrier, the stub ends thereof pass into the month between the cutter dlsk and blade and are severed from the ear, thereby loosening the husks from the cob at the stub end thereof.

lVhile the ears are being carried for-. wardly in a crosswise position by the receiving part of the carrier, the same are engaged on their sides by a loosening device which operates to turn the ears of corn and loosen the husks thereof aroundthe ears. This loosening device may be varied in its detail construction andstill accomplish the same purpose but theiconstructio'nshown in the drawings has been found effective and is therefore preferred. This preferred form of husk loosener comprises a plurality of longitudinal bars J, J which are arranged in; two sets, one set in front of the other, above the upper end of thereceiving part of the carrier, the front set J being arranged to engage the ears of corn after the stub ends have been se\-'ered-therefro1n while the rear set J is arranged to engage the ears of corn before the same reach the trimming or cutting devices. Each of the loosening bars J, J is provided on its underside with a longitudinal series of teeth, barbs or spurs 7' each of which has an abrupt rear side and As the ears of corn an inclined front side. are carried forwardly by the receiving part of the carrier, the upper sides of the ears are engaged by the teeth of the loosening bars, whereby the ears are turned and at the same time the husks are loosened "or torn part Way from the ears, thereby enabling the husking devices which subsequently operate upon the ears to reliably grasp the husks and pull them from the ears. The 'lower ends of the loosening bar are free to rise and fall while the upper ends of each set are secured to a transverse rock shaft K which is journaled in an upward extension k of the main frame. Eaclrof the said shafts is turned in the direction for yieldingly holding the free endsof the loosening bars in a. forwardly'inclined posit-ion and in the path of the ears of corn by means of a spring 7& connected at one end with a frame extension and at its upper end with an arm Z5 on one end of the respective rock shaft K. As the ears'of corn engagethe loosening bars thelatter are lifted whilethey'operat-e upon the ears and remain in "this position until the cars clear the bars during their continued forward movement.

After the ears of corn have been operated upon by the end trimming and husk loosening devices, the same are discharged downwardly through' a throat or guide'wa'y L which leads to the devices which operateto remove the h nts (from the ears of corn.

- of the sprocket wheels.

In "order to prevent displacement of the ears of corn while the same. are heingnop eratcd upon by the end trimming devices and untilZthesame are discharged downwardly through the throat, a holding device is provided'which maybe variously constructed but which preferably consists of a plurality of holding bars M arranged lengthwise over the front end of the-receiving partof the carrier and the upper end of the throat, the rear ends of the holding bars being secured to a rock shaft N which is' journaled transverseIyin-the frame extensions kand which has an arm a. connected by a spring tosaid extension for holding the bars yieldingly in their depressed position and the fi'ol'itjel'ids of said bars being guided in vertical slots or notches in; in the Wall Z as they adapt tl'ielnselves to the varying of earsof-corn which engage with the same.

The downward movement of the set of loosening bars Jis limited by engagement of their lower ends with the upper parts of the guide bars H while the downward movement of the set of'loosening bare,- J is limited by engagement of their lower ends with a shoulder or shelf 0 formedon the rear side of the guide wall Z.

' As. the ears of corn issue from the lower endof the guide throat or way, the same are received by ahusking device which comprises one or more pairs-of hnsking rollers 71, p which are arranged horizontally and transversely below the throat and opposite the delivery portion of the carrier. As shown in the drawings, three pairs of such rollers are employed but a greater orless number'of pairs may be used depending upon the character of the corn and other conditions. These several husliing rollers are arranged to form a'series or row which inclines from the lower end of the guideway L rearwardly and downwardly parallel with the opposing delivery portion of the endless carrier and the same are rotated that the opposing surfaces of the rollers of each pair move in opposite directions, so as to grasp the huslts. The preferred incansslu'iwn in the drawings for thus rotating these rollers consists of a train of intermeshing gears q secured to the corresponding ends of .the shafts of these rollers, and a chain belt Q passing around a sprocket wheel q on the main shaft and a sprocket pinion 1 on the shaftof one of the husking ro lers, as shown in Figs. 1 6 and 7.

the cars of corn issue from the lower end of the guideway they move over the first pair of husking rollers and these rollers grasp a part of the laterally projecting huslts on the ears and strip the same from the ears. As the ears roll successively over the "following pairs of hashing rollers, the members of each of these pairs in turn 'grasp remaining portions of the huskfs and strip the same from the ears so that when the ears escape from .the lowermost pair of husking rollers all ofthe husks have been removed from the ears together with the silk adhering thereto. thereby .;putting the ears of corn in condition for cutting the kernels from the cob.

If any "ears of corn become caught between.

a pair of rollers owing to the hnsks sticking firmly thereto, such ears are forcibly or positively advanced and carried downwardly toward the following pairs of rollers by engagementof the front sides of the carrier wings with the rear sides of the cars of corn, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. If on the other hand the husks are removed freely from the ears, the latter are prevented from escaping orpassing too rapidly over the roll- .ers by the rear sides of the carrier wings engaging with the front sides of the ears,.

shown in Fig. ,4, whereby the movement of the ears over the huslting rollers is retarded and the same are subjected to the full husking action'of the rollers, thereby insuring complete removal of all the husks from the cars. It will thus be noted that the carrier in this manner operates at one corn are confined on the same and compelled to move downwardly from the upper or re ceivmg end of this series to the lower or-delivery end thereof.

The huskswhich are removed from the cars by the rollers may be received by any suitable receptacle provided for this purpose at the front end of the machine. The ears of corn which have been freed from husks drop from the lowermost pair of husking rollers into a chute S which is' arranged in position to receive the ears of corn and direct them laterally to one side of the machine into any suitable receptacle.

It will. be noted that the spaces. between the several sets of feed wings in a' direction lengthwise of the movement of the-endless propeller is greater than the thickness of the loosening devices descend by gravity at a .from the ears of corn.

by the upper part of the conveyor preparaears of corn. By this means the ears of corn after leaving the cutting and husk greater speed than said propeller from the wings engaging the rear sides of the'ears of corn to the wings next in front of the same as the same pass from the receiving portion to the delivery portion of the'propellingdevice. Furthermore the transverse husking rollers together with the opposing delivery portion of theepropeller form'a guideway or compartment which receives the ears of corn and prevents the same from tipping up endwise or becoming displaced otherwise while the huskin'g rollers are strippi g the husks It will be ilnderstood from the foregoing that after the cutter has severed the butt end of an ear of corn the husks are free and can he subsequently completely removed easily by the husking rollers and the cutter therefore constitutes means for effecting a partial separation or preliminary loosening of the husks from the ears of corn while the latter are being-propelled in one direction tory to effecting the complete separation of: the l'llISh'S from the ears while the latter arecarricd in another direction by, the lower part of the conveyor.

My improved corn husker is not only exceedingly simple and din-able in construction but is very efficient and expeditions in j, its operation, it requires but little floor space owing to its compactness and it contains few moving parts enabling the same to be operated with comparatively little power. l

I claim as my invention: 1

LA corn husking machine comprising a belt conveyor having an up er. part which conveys the corn in one (Erection and a lower part which conveys the corn in 'an-= rollers arranged adjacent to the lower partof said conveyer and operating to eflect a complete separation or final removal ofthe husks from the corn while the latter is engaged by the lower part of the conveyor.

2. A corn hn'sking machine comprising a.

belt conveyor having an upper part whlch conveys the corn in one direction and a lower part which conveys the corn inanother directioin longitudinal bars having while on this part to e ect :a partial separation or preliminary loosening of the husks teeth arranged adjacent to the upper part of said conveyer and o crating on the corn v from the corn, and-husking rollers arranged adjacent to the lower part of said conveyer and operating to etlect a complete-separation or final removal of the husks from the corn while the latter is engaged by the lower part of; the conveyer. p I v ,WVitness my hand this 21st dayof October, H708.

Witnesses 'lnno. L. Porn, ANNA Hmcns.

a Q WILLIAM SELLS. 

